


The End of a War, The Beginning of More

by louisw91



Category: Larry Stylinson - Freeform - Fandom, One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, i had the idea and went for it, larry stylinson - Freeform, okay really its just a cute thing i wrote
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-17
Updated: 2017-08-17
Packaged: 2018-12-16 13:08:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11829390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/louisw91/pseuds/louisw91
Summary: (i may create a longer version of this soon)“Don’t you ever just get tired of it all?” Louis asked quietly. Smoke filtered out of his mouth as he spoke before he finally blew what remained out into the early morning air. He watched the small cloud float up into the air and dissipate.“Tired of what, exactly?” Harry watched Louis’ lips as they sucked in another drag from his cigarette.The sounds of cars making their way down the street was the only thing breaking the silence between the two. It took a few moments before Louis could speak, his voice flat and full of defeat, “The hiding away. The constant bullshit stories we have to go along with for our ‘image’.” Air quotes were made when he said the word, the fading cigarette still between his fingers. “All of the lies we have to tell people. Does it ever seem worth it to you?”“You’re worth it.”“That’s not what I mean, and you know that.”“Then what do you mean?”orthe one where Louis has grown tired of hiding and gets really sad about it, things happen that start to tip him over the edge, so Harry needs to find a way to make sure he keeps Louis by his side. even if it means risking other things.





	The End of a War, The Beginning of More

**Author's Note:**

> hi i just wanted to write a little thing that i thought of and i hope you enjoy it even if it may not be the best. this is also a work of complete fiction ! xx also there may be some mistakes here and there, i haven't gone through and edited it yet, but enjoy anyways!

If it weren’t for the cold breeze blowing in through the open balcony doors, Harry would have never woken up so early in the morning to find Louis’ side of the bed empty. He stirred slightly as the cold air hit his face, making his nose scrunch up. A hand slowly slid up the cool sheets, eyes still closed as fingers felt around. They didn’t bump into the familiar warm skin that usually accompanied Harry’s side. Slowly, Harry opened an eye to peek at the empty bed.

Moonlight pooled in through the slightly opened balcony doors. The curtains that hung on the door blew lightly in the breeze. Another draft hit Harry’s body, causing him to shiver slightly. Harry slowly rose from the bed and grabbed the duvet, wrapping it around his half naked body. The only thing he had on were a pair of pants, though if he hadn’t been so exhausted when they had gotten to the hotel, he probably would have had those off as well.

Bare feet padded across the soft carpet and towards the open doors. The smell of cigarette smoke immediately filled Harry’s nostrils as he reached the doors, opening them a bit wider so he could step out with the thick blanket still around him.

“Louis?”

Louis kept his head forward. A cigarette was pinched between his middle and pointer finger, the end glowing dully. He had a loose tank on, the armholes low enough to show the top half of his ribs. A pair of sweats hung low on Louis’ hips. Louis was leaned forward against the railing on their balcony, his face forward as if he was looking at the city off in the distance.

“Lou, baby, it’s freezing outside,” Harry said quietly as he came up behind Louis, spreading the duvet open so he could wrap his arms around Louis’ shoulders, his arms crossing across Louis’ chest. Harry pressed a soft kiss to the back of the man’s head before mumbling quietly, “What time s’it?”

“Not sure,” Louis said as he sniffed, bringing his cigarette up to take a drag, finishing it off. He flicked the butt of the cigarette out onto the dewy grass stories below them. Harry frowned but stayed silent. Once Louis blew out the smoke from his lungs, he said, “Been out here since two, I’d say it’s been a couple of hours.

Louis carefully moved out of Harry’s arms to walk over to the small table, picking up his phone, which had previously been lying next to a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. The screen glowed for a split second before Louis sat the phone back down. “Yeah, it’s nearly four now.”

Harry watched as Louis sat in one of the chairs, head leaned back, and his eyes staring out at the city. He didn’t say anything, but instead went over to the chair that was across from Louis’ and sat down, the duvet shifting beneath him.

They were silent for a few minutes, Harry eyeing the open pack of cigarettes on the table. He didn’t mind that Louis smoked, because for him it was a stress reliever, but he didn’t necessarily like the idea either. He remembered that the pack had been almost full earlier today, but now only three were left in the pack. Harry looked up at Louis. His eyes were blank as he looked out at nothing in particular. Something about his eyes seemed empty, a frown set on his lips.

“Louis,” Harry whispered as he gently nudged his foot against the older lad’s. Louis slowly pulled his eyes away from the city and look at Harry, raising an eyebrow at him. “What’s on your mind?”

Louis just stared at Harry for a few moments, his jaw tensing slightly before he took in a deep breath. “Nothing, love,” he said softly, letting his head fall back, “I’m just… tired.”

“Come back to bed, then.”

“Not that kind of tired.”

“Oh,” Harry breathed out, frowning. He watched as Louis leaned forward and grabbed the pack, plucking out a cigarette, then taking the lighter. Louis placed the end of the cigarette between his lips and flicked the lighter on, slowly taking in a drag as he lit the cigarette. He pinched the cigarette between his fingers and pulled it away from his mouth, tilting his head back as he blew out the smoke. Immediately he took another drag.

“Don’t you ever just get tired of it all?” Louis asked quietly. Smoke filtered out of his mouth as he spoke before he finally blew what remained out into the early morning air. He watched the small cloud float up into the air and dissipate.

“Tired of what, exactly?” Harry watched Louis’ lips as they sucked in another drag from his cigarette.

The sounds of cars making their way down the street was the only thing breaking the silence between the two. It took a few moments before Louis could speak, his voice flat and full of defeat, “The hiding away. The constant bullshit stories we have to go along with for our ‘image’.” Air quotes were made when he said the word, the fading cigarette still between his fingers. “All of the lies we have to tell people. Does it ever seem worth it to you?”

“Yes, because you’re worth it.”

“That’s not what I mean, and you know that.”

“Then what do you mean?”

Louis lifted his hand and moved it around as he spoke, “All this. Is our image really worth hiding away what we’re really like? I mean, according to the media I cheated on my ‘girlfriend’ with two girls. Out of those two girls, I knocked one up. I now have a kid, and that ‘girlfriend’ is back. For you, you’re dating every woman that even looks in your fucking direction. You’ve slept with many more.”

“We were told that from the beginning, Lou,” Harry responded. Louis rolled his eyes and slumped back in his chair, taking in a long drag. “We knew that this would happen, all the stories. It was always ridiculous from the start, even the fans saw through it. They still continue to see through it.” Louis stayed silent. “If we can just get through this bump, we-”

“This ‘bump’? This is a ‘bump’?” Louis laughed bitterly, turning his head towards Harry. Harry shut his mouth. “I’m a fucking piece of shit to the media, you’re a womanizer that sleeps with women and breaks their hearts. I have a kid, a baby mother that drags my name, and a girlfriend that makes her living off of this. That, to you, is a ‘bump’?”

Harry sighed and shook his head. “Who cares what the media thinks of you? Or me? Who gives a shit, Louis?” Louis opened his mouth to say something, but Harry cut him off, “I don’t. I don’t care. I don’t care because _I_ know the real you. I know _who_ you are, and you _aren’t_ who they think.”

They both sat in silence for a moment, their eyes keeping contact. “I know the loving man you are,” Harry said quietly, “I know the part of you that can’t stand to see people upset, the part of you that has to make the person smile, even when they don’t want to. I know the part of you that drops everything when someone needs something. I know the part of you that would literally give the shirt off your back to someone else if they needed it more.”

Louis stayed silent and looked down at the cigarette between his fingers. Ashes were built up on the end, the cigarette burned down to nearly the end. “Louis, I love you. I love you so, so much. The people who matter most know who you are and love you for _you_. The people in the media just want a headline, no matter who’s name they’re dragging.”

“I just…” Louis trailed off for a second. He slowly leaned forward and put his cigarette out in the small ashtray that was in the middle of the table. “It gets to be too much sometimes, you know? The stunts and stories, not you.”

“I know.”

Another silent moment passed as Louis took in a deep breath.

“Sometimes,” Louis said quietly, “I want to just disappear.” Louis looked up and saw Harry’s frown. “Not in the way you’re thinking. I mean, just disappear from the media’s eye for a while. Only keep in contact with my family and the lads. I want to take you with me, of course.” He rubbed over his face, eyes tired.

Harry reached across the table and held his palm out. Louis looked to it before sliding his hand into the younger man’s. “If we could disappear, where would you want to disappear to?”

“Someplace where we aren’t ‘Louis Tomlinson’ and ‘Harry Styles’. Just: Louis and Harry,” Louis said almost immediately. Harry squeezed his hand. “Hell, we wouldn’t even have to use our real names. We could just use some fake names like… like…”

“Like Herman and Waldo.”

Louis’ face scrunched up in amusement. “That’s going to be our names? ‘Herman’ and ‘Waldo’?” Harry smiled toothily at the man. “You’re Herman.”

Harry scoffed playfully. “Of _course,_ I’m Herman! Why would I want to be Waldo? You’re the one who went through the whole stripe phase.”

“Oh, fuck off!” Louis groaned over Harry’s laughter.

The two grew silent after Harry’s laughter died down. A small, fond smile was on Louis’ face as he watched his boyfriend. Harry lightly rubbed over the man’s knuckles with his thumb. “You’re really upset, aren’t you?” Harry asked quietly. Louis looked at him, his smile fading slightly as he nodded. “What do we do?”

Louis sighed and shook his head, mumbling, “Nothing we can do, right? Management and all. Guess we’ll just have to suck it up and continue sitting through meetings where they tell us we’re ‘so close to coming out’ when we’re the exact opposite.”

Harry stayed quiet, his eyebrows furrowed in thought as he stared at their joined hands. After a few minutes of silence, Louis slowly rose from his chair. He gathered his belongings in one hand, the other still gripping onto Harry’s.

“How about we go sleep, yeah?” he said softly. Louis squeezed Harry’s hand, making the lad look up at him. “Need at least a couple hours sleep before we’re off to whatever in the morning. Plus, I’ve been freezing my arse off out here.”

Harry and Louis made their way back inside and into bed, Harry wrapping Louis up in the duvet, holding the smaller man to his chest. They sat like that for a few minutes, the silence being disrupted by the distant sound of an ice machine.

“Louis, if you could come out tomorrow, would you?” Harry asked quietly. He sat his chin on top of Louis’ head, his hand rubbing over Louis’ now bare side. “If we could come out tomorrow, would you want to do it?”

“Yes,” Louis responded without missing a beat. “I know…” he trailed off for a second, clearing his throat slightly before he continued, “I know in the past, I said I wasn’t ready. But… After all this, I just want to scream it to the world.” Louis pulled his head back so he could look up at Harry. “Would you?”

“Of course,” Harry said softly, bringing his hand up to lightly brush Louis’ hair back. “What if one of us just announced it in front of everyone. Would you be okay with that?”

Louis laughed lightly, “What? You mean just like, be in a room full of people and say ‘Hey, I’m gay and I’m dating my bandmate. Neither of us have slept with a woman in years! Surprise!’” It was Harry’s turn to laugh now, leaning his head back as he did so. Louis giggled and shook his head, “I don’t care how we do it. One of us can say it, both of us can. Hell, even Liam and Niall can say it.”

Harry’s laughter died down and he tilted his head so he could look at Louis again. He stayed silent for a few beats, his eyes searching over Louis’ face. “God,” he whispered quietly, “I love you so much.”

“I love you,” Louis whispered back, leaning in to peck Harry’s lips softly. “Maybe one day we’ll get to come out, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Harry breathed, nuzzling his face in Louis’ hair. “Yeah, one day.”

 

The next morning, Harry woke up to the alarm on his phone going off, and the bed empty once again. He sighed quietly and slowly sat up in bed, running a hand through his hair to push the curled mess out of his face. He grabbed his phone and turned the alarm off. A message from Louis stood out on the screen, making him frown.

 

**_im sorry im not there to wake u up. id much rather be curled up in bed w/ u. but got a call from PR. said it was “important”. u know how it is. see u soon. i love you so so so so so much, baby cakes. will make it up to u ltr._ **

Harry typed out a reply before quickly getting a shower and loaded up in the car with the other boys. They had an interview in the early afternoon, so they had time for breakfast. The three boys found themselves in the back corner of a small café, a table full of plates nearly empty.

“Lou have some kind of shit with El this morning?” Niall asked after swallowing a mouthful of eggs. He still had little fluffy pieces stuck to his lips as he talked.

Harry just shrugged. “I’m not sure, honestly. PR called him this morning while I was still sleeping. He said they called it ‘important’, so he really had no choice. Haven’t heard from him since.”

“Oh.” Harry looked over to see Liam looking down at his phone, frowning deeply. Niall and Harry both watched him scroll through his phone, his eyebrows furrowing together.

“What?” Niall said, peeking over Liam’s shoulder with a frown. “What is it?”

Liam leaned over the table, holding his phone out for Harry. “Did he tell you this was happening?”

“What? What’s happening?” Harry asked as he took the phone. He looked down at the screen. All the air got sucked out of his lungs.

**ONE DIRECTION MEMBER, LOUIS TOMLINSON, AND LONG TIME GIRLFRIEND, ELEANOR CALDER, ENGAGED! (See Pics!)**

Harry scrolled down, skipping the article completely until he saw a picture.

There were several clear pictures of them having breakfast in an outside sitting area. Louis had a smile on his face, and Eleanor had been laughing at something. You could see on Eleanor’s left ring finger a large diamond engagement ring.

Harry slowly handed back the phone – which Niall took from Liam to have a look for himself – and looked down at the plates on the table, the food he had just consumed flipping rapidly in his stomach. “Holy shit,” Niall whispered a couple moments later. “I didn’t think--”

“Yeah,” Harry said quietly. He frowned to himself.

There was no way this could play off as a lie to the media; not an engagement. This wasn’t in their favor.

When Harry and Louis first got together, they thought it would be a smart idea to sit down with their management and talk about their options on coming out, but were quickly shut down because they were still a rising band and they had just broke ground in America. They understood, because it would also benefit the others if they just waited. They were promised that within a couple years, once they tested waters in different countries, that they could come out. A couple years turned into a couple more, stunts added, and it kept being pushed off and pushed off. ‘Maybe next year’ they’d say to them, but next year never came.

Their management would never press an engagement story on either of them. It was a big shock when they pressed the baby story and told Louis he _had_ to go along with it, that it would end soon enough with people finding out the baby wasn’t his in the first place, then it would be settled. But it was still being dragged on, with promise after promise that it would end soon.

Then they brought Eleanor back into the picture, which Louis was _not_ happy about when he found out. They ran the “old loves find their way back” bullshit that Harry _hated._ During interviews on their hiatus, Louis would deny that he and Eleanor would be ready to get engaged soon.

But that’s all changed.

“Harry?” Liam spoke softly. Harry looked up to see Niall and Liam looking at him with concerned (and a hint of sadness) in their eyes. “Are you okay?”

Harry took in a deep breath before nodding stiffly, murmuring, “Just another stunt, right? Nothing new.”

“A baby can be played off,” Niall said, “but an engagement? When they let you come out, how are they going to play that off without it looking horrible on their part?”

Under the table, Harry’s hands were clenched tightly into fists against the tops of his thighs. He looked back down to the plates again and opened his mouth, but was interrupted by one of their bodyguards telling them it was time to head to the interview.

The car ride was quiet. Harry was relieved that it was, because if Niall or Liam had asked any questions, he wasn’t sure he could answer them. He didn’t know why this was happening, why they had gone back on what they said and decided to push this.

Harry suddenly frowned as he stared out the car window. Had Louis known this plan was going to be executed, and that’s why he was so upset the night before? On previous stunts, if they were to know about them beforehand, Louis would spend the whole night thinking about it and not sleep well. Just like how he had been last night. But the difference was Harry would be up with him through the whole night until they both passed out because Louis _always_ told Harry about stunts before they were executed, and vise-versa.

So, had Louis known and just not told him about it? If so, Harry wondered, how long did he know?

Soon the car pulled up to the radio station they were to be interviewed. Once they were inside, they were ushered into a small waiting room. Niall and Liam took one of the couches, and Harry took the chair, scrolling through his phone. All over his Twitter were people talking about Louis’ new ‘engagement’ with Eleanor. Pictures of them in the past were also posted, as well as other people talking about the famous ‘Larry Stylinson’ and how it apparently was no more, which broke Harry’s heart a lot more.

After a few minutes of mindless chatter between Liam and Niall, and Harry sitting silently in his chair, the door opened and Louis stepped in. Harry looked up and his heart immediately sank.

Louis’ eyes were red and puffy, the tip of his nose and his cheeks also rosy. It was evident he had been crying. A lady, Sally, who was a person from their PR team was beside him. She talked quietly to Lou, their stylist, but Harry heard her say, “Make sure he’s taken care of. The interview is being filmed. We can’t have viewers seeing him like _this_.” She turned to Louis and said, “If anything is said, just say you have allergies or a cold or something. Make it believable,” before leaving the room.

Harry was just about to stand, but Lou quickly took the older lad away, whispering quietly to him. Her words were too quiet for Harry to make out.

It wasn’t long before they all had their hair fixed and their faces slightly powdered before they were taken into the broadcasting room. They sat down in their chairs, Harry on one end, and Louis on the other, with Niall and Liam between them. Harry glanced at Louis, trying to catch his eye, but Louis stared down at his lap, playing with his fingers.

They waited for the commercials and the songs to be over before the radio host spoke.

“Good afternoon, everyone! Today we have some special guests joining us here in the studio. The boys of One Direction! Welcome boys. We’re glad to have you here.”

“We’re glad to be here,” Liam responded quickly.

“Thank you for having us,” Harry said after, nodding at the host.

A few questions were asked about their hiatus, and how they had spent it. Louis hadn’t really spoken much, a small, but fake, smile on his lips whenever he’d speak.

Harry’s anxiety started to grow, knowing that at any moment the host would ask about Louis’ ‘engagement’. But it did come, and it hit Harry hard.

“So, Louis, we found out earlier this morning that you and your lovely girlfriend, Eleanor, have recently gotten engaged!” Louis forced a smile and nodded, saying a small ‘Yeah’ before the host continued. “Congrats on that, mate. It must be exciting.”

“Very exciting,” Louis said with a wide smile. Harry could tell it was being forced, and his voice was very clipped as he answered questions.

“Have the two of you sat down and talked about dates yet? What kind of wedding you want?” the host asked.

“Uh, I think she’s wanting a spring time wedding, actually,” Louis said, shifting in his seat. “It’s only just happened, so no details have been worked out, but I think a spring wedding would be nice, yeah.”

“So, can you tell us how you proposed?”

Louis glanced towards the other three boys before speaking, “It was last week, actually. We had gone to dinner. I wanted to make it special so we went to her favorite restaurant. I was really nervous, actually, because I thought after our past and everything, that she wouldn’t be keen on the idea, but I went with it anyways, you know? Towards the end, I asked her, and thankfully she said yes.”

It sounded practiced. Scripted. And Harry absolutely hated it. He balled his hands into fists, his nails biting into his palms, but Niall carefully reached out and tapped the top of his hand to get him to release, offering a sad smile.

“That’s wonderful!” The host looked towards the other three, who had stayed silent. “How did you lot react to the news?”

“We’re very happy for them both,” Liam said, nodding as he looked towards Louis.

“And Harry? How about you?”

Harry let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding, straightening up a bit in his chair. “Yeah, it’s great,” he mumbled into his mic. He nodded and looked towards Louis before looking back at the host. “Happy.”

The rest of the interview went by with Louis and Harry not saying much. They gave small, awkward answers and bits throughout the interview. Louis would glance to Harry every so often, but never met his eye.

Once they all thanked the host, they began to go back to the cars. Harry walked towards one and climbed into the back, scooting over for whoever – either Niall or Liam – would join him. Whoever didn’t, would be with Louis in the other car. That’s how it always worked.

Harry leaned his head against the window and closed his eyes. A couple minutes went by before he felt someone climb into the car next to him and close the door. The car remained silent until they started to move.

“I didn’t know until this morning.” Harry jumped a bit at the sound of Louis’ voice. He opened his eyes and turned his head, seeing Louis in the seat next to him. “That’s what the ‘emergency call’ was this morning. That’s why I wasn’t there.” Louis did air quotes around the words “emergency call” as he spoke. Harry stayed silent as he stared at Louis. “Please tell me you believe me. It’s been a shit day and I really don’t want you mad at me.”

“Of course I believe you,” Harry said softly, “I just- I’m trying to make sense of this right now.”

Louis let out a small laugh. “You and me both.” They both stayed silent for a couple ticks. “We’re never getting out of this, are we?” Louis whispered sadly, his head dropping down.

Harry watched the smaller lad pick at his trousers. Slowly, Harry took Louis’ hand and brought it up to his lips, kissing over Louis’ knuckles. “We’ll figure it out,” Harry mumbled against Louis’ hand. “We always do.”

“But what if we can’t this time?” Louis asked, looking up at Harry. “I… I’ve really thought… thought about leaving.”

Harry frowned. “Leaving what?”

“This.”

“This?”

“The band,” Louis said, “the life we live. God, this life is perfect for you. Not the stories, because you brush them all off. They get to you a bit, but not as much anymore. But the Rockstar life – you are so perfect for it. I- I’m not. I think I’ve run my course on it all.”

Harry shook his head, “Louis, don’t let this cause you to leave all of this behind--”

“Harry,” Louis said over him, cutting the younger lad off. Harry shut his mouth and frowned deeply. “Harry,” he said again, but quieter. Louis brought a hand up and gently cupped Harry’s cheek, rubbing his thumb lightly under the man’s eye. “Love, I can’t handle this anymore. This… It’s gotten way out of control. I don’t feel like I’m in in charge of my own life anymore. They- They’re choosing everything for me, and I don’t like it. It’s honestly killing me on the inside.”

“We can talk to them, Louis. We can settle a new agreement. We can fight against it. We--”

“You know there’s nothing we can do to change this.”

Harry sat back, causing Louis’ hand to drop; pulling his own hand away as well. Louis watched Harry, a sad expression on his face. “You can’t just give up like that.”

“Unfortunately, Hazza, I gave up a long time ago.” Louis shrugged. “I’m just making my final decision now.”

“So, what, you’re going to leave all of this behind. What about us? You and me?” Harry asked. “What are we to do when I’m traveling all around the world and I can’t see you. We had to sneak around and be careful when we were on hiatus. We got caught a couple times being in the same place, but we covered it. What are we supposed to do now if you were to leave?” Louis looked at Harry, then looked down to his hands.

Harry shook his head. “No,” he said sternly, grabbing onto Louis’ hand again. “No, no, no. I don’t think so. We are _not_ going there, Louis. We have been through hell and back. We have been through _too_ much to just throw it all away like that. Okay, so you give up on all the shit that’s going on. But don’t you dare give up on me. Don’t you _dare_ give up on us.”

“It’s not that simple--”

“Why isn’t it, then?” Harry questioned. His tone came out harsh, “You know, there were times I wanted to give up. I’m sure there’s been times when Niall and Liam wanted to give up as well. But did we? No. You are needed in this band. And I need you in my life, Louis. It _is_ that simple. I _need_ you.”

Louis sat back and leaned his head against the headrest, closing his eyes. They stayed silent, Harry thinking as he looked at their joined hands. Louis had a tight grip on his own hand, like he was afraid Harry was going to pull away.

The car came to a stop, the driver announcing they were at the stadium. Harry looked at Louis and squeezed his hand, causing the other boy to look at him. “I’m going to fix this.”

“How?” Louis asked weakly.

“Just don’t give up on me, okay?” Harry leaned forward and pressed his lips to Louis’, kissing the lad firmly before pulling back again. “Don’t give up on me just yet. I’m going to fix it.” The two stared at each other for a beat. “Do you trust me?”

Louis gave a slow nod, confusion washing over his face. Harry smiled a bit and leaned back in, giving his boyfriend another kiss, but this time it was soft.

When they pulled away, they both exited the car and entered the stadium.

Rehearsals went by quickly, Harry disappearing when they would go on break with Niall first, then later with Liam. Louis didn’t pay much attention to it. Then, they were all in their separate dressing rooms, besides Louis and Harry. They shared one.

They had some time before they had to start getting ready, and Harry made sure to use that time wisely.

At the moment, he had Louis pressed up against the door, the older man’s legs wrapped around his waist, both of them practically naked, save their pants. Harry’s hands gripped Louis’ outer thighs, squeezing them every so often as they kissed passionately, tongues licking each other, and teeth clashing. Louis had his hands tangled through Harry’s locks, tugging at strands. That would always earn a moan from Harry, the noise vibrating in their mouths.

It wasn’t until they desperately needed to breathe that they pulled away, Harry’s mouth going to Louis’ neck to lazily kiss at it. Louis leaned his head back against the door, his eyes closed, and his lips panting softly.

“I love you,” Harry murmured against Louis’ neck before nipping at his skin.

Louis sighed high in the back of his throat before responding, “I love you. So much. Fuck, that feels amazing.”

Harry smirked a bit against the man’s skin before he pulled his face back so he could look up at his boyfriend. The smirk faded into a fond grin as Louis looked down at him, their eyes meeting. “How about we run away?”

“And where would we go?” Louis questioned, running his fingers through Harry’s hair. He looked at the lad fondly, but a tinge of sadness in his eyes.

_If only he could run away._

Harry thought for a moment before shrugging, “Anywhere. As long as I’m with you, I’d go anywhere.”

Louis smiled and leaned down, pecking Harry’s nose softly. “Okay, Herman. How about… somewhere secluded? Like an island?”

“Somewhere without internet access as well,” Harry added. Louis nodded. “Maybe a place with bungalows we can live in.”

“A tropical place, then.” Louis tapped Harry’s chin with the pad of his thumb. “Would we be alone on this island? Just the two of us?”

“I think other people should be there, just so we can have neighbors,” Harry responded. “If they don’t have access to internet, then they won’t know who we are, more than likely. Plus, since we’re changing our names, I’m sure they wouldn’t know a Waldo Tomlinson.”

Louis hummed a little and smiled. “I was thinking Waldo Styles.”

Harry looked at Louis, his lips quirking up. “Yeah?” he breathed out.

“Yeah. Or if not, maybe you can be Herman Tomlinson. Maybe Waldo and Herman Tomlinson-Styles?”

“Whatever you want,” Harry said, leaning up to press his lips to Louis’, his eyes closing tightly as they kissed. He pulled back and nuzzled his face against the man’s neck. “I’m happy with whatever you want.”

Louis put his mouth next to Harry’s ear, murmuring quietly, “I want you. Only you.”

Just as Harry opened his mouth, there was a knock on the door. Liam’s voice filtered in from the other side. “Lou and Lot’s ready for the two of you. Get dressed.”

Slowly, Harry placed Louis back down on the floor. He cupped the older man’s face and leaned down, pressing their lips together for one last kiss. When he pulled back, Harry mumbled, “I just want you to know that I’m going to love you no matter what. Okay? I will stick by you.”

Louis didn’t really have time to respond to Harry because another knock came, and the two split so they could get dressed and make their way to the stylists. Harry disappeared right before the show, and they were about to go on. Louis looked around worriedly, a frown on his lips. The remaining three boys were rushed to their places.

Probably ten seconds before the show started, Harry showed up, getting in his position.

“Where’d you run off to?” Louis whispered. Harry just gave him a small wink, then they were running onto stage.

The show went fine, but Louis couldn’t help but get upset during a couple of their songs. _Little Things_ and _Home_ being the main ones. He also had noticed some signs in the audience congratulating him on his ‘engagement’. Louis could tell Harry had seen a couple of them as well, because he wasn’t as talkative during the show like he normally was.

It was about to end, though, which Louis was grateful for. He was on the verge of crying already and he just wanted to go back to the hotel and sleep. Or, at least try to sleep.

“We want to thank each and every one of you for coming out tonight,” Liam said as he walked across the stage towards Niall. “Now, we would normally end the show with _Best Song Ever_ , however, Harry wanted to say a few words instead. Harold.” Liam nodded towards Harry with a smile. Louis looked at them with confusion and tilted his head a bit as he caught Liam’s eye. Liam just smiled wider and shrugged his shoulder.

“Thank you, Liam,” Harry said into his mic. Louis watched Harry, a small shake in his voice as he spoke. “For a long time, there has been some speculation that I was, or am, in a relationship with one of my bandmates, here.”

Louis’ heart stopped. _Please. Not a denial here. Not now. Not with everything going on,_ he thought to himself, the grip on his microphone becoming tighter. So tight, his knuckles turned completely white.

“That speculation has been going on ever since the _X Factor_ days, and I just wanted to set a couple things straight here for any of you who still believe that Louis and I got together during that time.” Louis looked down, tears starting to brim his eyes. “We actually didn’t become official until _after_ the _X Factor._ ”

All of the air was sucked out of Louis’ lungs at that moment, his head snapping up. He caught Harry’s eye and mouthed ‘ _What are you doing?_ ’. But Harry just smiled and continued.

“Of course, I was absolutely pining over him the entire time, don’t get me wrong. But that’s not when we became official.” Harry looked back towards the crowd, a wide smile on his face. “But, in reality, it doesn’t matter _when_ we got together, just that we are together now. And we are, despite what little rumors are going around and what was said on the radio this morning. We are very happy together.”

Louis watched Harry, his hands shaking as he clutched onto his microphone. Harry then turned towards Louis and walked over to him, speaking as he did. “We don’t get to choose who we fall in love with; it just happens. But I’m really glad it happened with you.” _Oh,_ he’s talking to Louis now.

They were now face to face, Louis staring up at Harry with wide eyes. Harry took Louis’ microphone and handed it off, along with his own, to someone at his side, but Louis didn’t see who it was. All he could see was Harry at this moment. The stage lights acted like an angelic glow around him.

“Louis,” Harry said to him, just loud enough that he could hear over the screaming fans surrounding them. Louis opened his mouth, but closed it again, blinking up at Harry as he felt hands slowly slide up his neck. “I told you I didn’t care what happened, that I would stick by your side and love you no matter what. And I told you I would fix this. It’s probably going to be messy for a while, but I _promise_ , I’m not going anywhere.”

“Harry, what about--”

“Who gives a shit?” Harry said, stepping closer to Louis. Their eyes met and Harry leaned down a bit to whisper in Louis’ ear, “I don’t care who knows, who sees, or what happens. I talked to the others about it as well. It’s a risk we are all willing to take. I love you, and I’m not letting them win this time.”

Harry pulled back just enough so he could look at Louis, the tips of their noses brushing together. “I love you, Louis Tomlinson. I want to show the world that I love you. This is the end of a war, and the beginning of so much more for us. _We_ win.”

With that, Harry leaned in the rest of the way and pressed their lips together. The crowd around them roared so loud, but neither Harry or Louis could hear them in that moment. Neither of them cared. In that moment, they won. Even if there were plenty of battles to come after, all they could think about was their victory.

Love always wins.

Always.

**Author's Note:**

> twitter: @iwtghosts (i is capital to look like an L)  
> tumblr: lwtghosts (that's actually an L)


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